‘People's satellite’ helps spot thousands of units of Russian equipment

ICEYE satellite, purchased with donations from Ukrainians, helped spot and destroy thousands of units of Russian military equipment.

"Ukraine’s military intelligence started using ‘people's satellite’ on September 24, 2022. Since then, the security and defense forces of the state have been receiving the necessary intelligence data from space," the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine posted on Telegram.

For the five months of using ICEYE, the officers of the Main Directorate of Intelligence have conducted a space radar reconnaissance of almost 1,000 locations of Russian units in temporarily captured and other territories that were of interest to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

During this time, the resource of the satellite allowed to detect 360 tents in the locations of the Russian army, as well as 7,321 units of enemy military and special equipment, in particular: 45 aircraft, 27 helicopters, six Iskander missile systems, 36 S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, 12 Pantsir S1air defense systems, 11 radar stations, 10 pontoon crossings.

"Thanks to ICEYE capabilities, a large part of this list has been destroyed and reflected in the daily reports of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine emphasized.

The military intelligence once again expressed their gratitude to all Ukrainian people who joined the fund-raising campaign for the satellite, to every volunteer who provides daily assistance to the defenders of Ukraine, and the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation.

"Such eyes in orbit make it possible to detect and destroy camouflaged Russian military equipment, weapons, and personnel 24 hours a day and in any weather," the intelligence directorate stressed.

At the end of June 2022, Ukrainian showman and volunteer Serhiy Prytula announced that Ukrainians had raised money for the purchase of four Bayraktar drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in three days. Later, the Turkish company said that it would hand over three drones to Ukraine free of charge, and the money collected by the Prytula Foundation would be spent on humanitarian aid to Ukrainians. In August, Prytula announced that his fund had bought a satellite for the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the money raised by Ukrainians for the purchase of drones. Therefore, the Ukrainian army will quickly receive high-quality satellite images that will help the Ukrainian military plan operations.

First illustrative photo: Pexels, Unsplash